CEVA awards nominees revealed

The nominees for this year's CEVA awards have been announced. Now in it's seventh year, the awards recognise extraordinary professionals and people from the farming, veterinary and charity industries, who go the extra mile in the name of animal welfare.

This year, the nominees for the Charity Team of the Year Award (UK & International) – sponsored by Your Cat and Your Dog magazines, are:

Mission Rabies – this incredible charity aims to stamp out rabies and help control the stray dog population in Asia with vaccination and neutering campaigns, as well as providing educational materials for schools to teach children and adults about reducing the risk of rabies.

Michelson Found Animals Foundation – this American charity aims to find loving homes for stray animals and reduce shelter intake and euthanisation of homeless animals, and are big advocates of neutering Dogstar Foundation, Sri Lanka – Dogstar works tirelessly to improve the lives of animals in Sri Lanka; offering mass rabies vaccination programmes, providing humane dog population management and aiming to tackle animal welfare issues in the country.

The full list of nominees are:

Chris Laurence Vet of the Year Award in association with Veterinary Times

Andrew Gardiner from Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies

Richard Saunders from the Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund

Jenny Stavisky from the University of Nottingham

Welfare Nurse of the Year Award in association with VN Times

Sarah Dawson from Vets4Pets in Walton Vale, Liverpool

Samantha Shand from Quarrington Veterinary Surgery in Sleaford

Ellisah Raven from Bransby Horses in Lincoln

Charity Professional of the Year Award (UK & International) – in association with PDSA

Lesley Winton, founder of the Winton Foundation for the Welfare of Bears & Fostering Compassion

Dr Stephen Blakeway, director of international operations at The Donkey Sanctuary

Ali Taylor, head of canine behaviour and training at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home

Volunteer of the Year Welfare Award (UK & International) – in association with Blue Cross

International Cat Care will be choosing the winner of this award from its extensive membership base. The winner will be announced at the awards’ ceremony.

In addition to the scheduled categories, the judges have granted one additional award in special recognition of a charity’s ongoing commitment to animal welfare.

The shortlist for each award was decided by a panel of esteemed judges chaired by retired vet surgeon Chris Laurence MBE MRCVS, chairman of the Animal Welfare Foundation and British Veterinary Behaviour Association and trustee of the RSPCA and Animal Welfare Foundation.

Chris says: “Judging gets more difficult each year as we receive more nominations and they get even more impressive. It is humbling to witness the huge number of people who give their lives to animal welfare to the detriment of better paid jobs or simply going out and enjoying themselves.”

Winners will be revealed and presented with their awards during a glitzy ceremony held in Birmingham ahead of BSAVA Congress on April 5, 2017.